


Bitter Blood

by ThatDreadBitch



Series: All this shit is weird [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Arranged Marriage, Betrayal, Blood Drinking, Blood Loss, Blood Magic, Blood and Injury, Brecilian Forest (Dragon Age), Canon quests, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Civil War, Dalish Elven Culture and Customs, Death Wish, Delirium, Demonic Possession, Denial, Denial of Feelings, Dragon Age: Origins Quest - Captured!, Elf Culture & Customs, Eluvians (Dragon Age), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Repressed, F/M, Fifth Blight (Dragon Age), Gen, Graphic Description of Corpses, Grey Wardens, Head Injury, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, Interrogation, Mass Death, Mercy Killing, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, Near Death, Not Canon Compliant, Novelization, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Personal Growth, Political Marriage, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rating May Change, Recovered Memories, Revenge, Sick Character, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Tainted elf, The Blight (Dragon Age), The Taint (Dragon Age), Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:33:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28866327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDreadBitch/pseuds/ThatDreadBitch
Summary: Ciara was a hunter, definitely not a fighter, and probably the last person in Thedas who should be considered to join the legendary Grey Wardens. That fact and that her future with her clan were about the only things she was certain about. Or could she even be certain of those things?  When a chance encounter with an ancient corrupted artifact of her people's past steals her childhood sweetheart away from her, she is cast out of her clan to save her own life. If she had known about the truths of her family's past, her own, and that of the world beyond the forest that she grew up in; perhaps she wouldn't have contested her conscription into the Grey Wardens at all, let alone so adamantly. Was there another reason her clan's Keeper never let her leave the forest?
Relationships: Alistair & Female Warden (Dragon Age), Anders & Mahariel (Dragon Age), Felsi/Oghren (Dragon Age), Female Amell & Female Mahariel, Female Mahariel & Marethari Talas, Female Mahariel & Merrill (Dragon Age), Female Mahariel & Sigrun (Dragon Age), Female Mahariel & Velanna (Dragon Age), Female Mahariel/Tamlen (Dragon Age), Female Warden & Warden's Mabari (Dragon Age), Female Warden & Wynne (Dragon Age), Justice & Mahariel (Dragon Age), Leliana & Female Mahariel (Dragon Age), Morrigan & Female Warden (Dragon Age), Nathaniel Howe & Female Mahariel, Oghren & Warden (Dragon Age), Warden & Warden's Mabari (Dragon Age)
Series: All this shit is weird [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210409
Comments: 3
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

The campfire roared to life as Ciara tossed another small log onto it, providing some relief from the chill of the crisp winter air. A raven-haired elf attempted to warm her hands by the flames. The nearby settlement of humans bothered her more than the chill. She put on her leather arm-guards in case she went on a hunt later, Her leather tunic and leggings protected her from most of the frigid air.

“A poor harvest. Sylaise above, this does not seem to be a good sign. We haven’t been here for a year. The plants should have had plenty of time to grow back by now, even with the humans nearby.” A tired voice grumbled as it approached Ciara from behind and sat across the fire pit from her. Placing his bow beside him on the log, he held his hands close to the fire, to warm himself up.

“What do you mean a poor harvest?” Ciara asked, tilting her head to the blond elf as her eyebrows drew together, the recently started fire reflecting off of the brown of her irises. Her hand drifting to the one beside her.

“The same as the past few harvests. In some places, it’s difficult for the plants to grow now and even the animals avoid it.”

“Maybe we should keep an eye out for blight-cap on our next hunt. If that’s what’s causing it, then we need to move again.”

“That seems a wise idea, Da’len.” The keeper said walking towards the group. Ciara turned her attention to the grey-haired elder as she approached the group of elves, carrying her staff at her side, “Ciara, you know this forest better than any of us. I want you to take Tamlen and search for signs of Blight cap. If you find any, remember not to touch it but tell me.”

“Of course,” Ciara said, grabbing her bow after putting her shoulder-length raven-colored hair in a ponytail. She made her way towards the edge of camp to meet up with her husband, figuring he would at least want to get some supplies before they headed out.

The hours passed slowly with no luck. It was almost mid-day now and still; the forest appeared empty. This was unusual. Normally, she would have caught a few wolves by now or at least seen a few bears. Where were all the animals? She worried how long her clan had before they would have to move on once again, usually they wouldn’t have left for weeks but it appeared they might need to leave the forest for the first time she could remember, this forest was the only place she had ever known. The sounds of hooves broke the silence coming from behind some bushes in the distance. After a short while, they heard people talking from that same direction.

“How do we even know there are Dalish clans out here?” An impatient voice asked from beyond the bushes.

“Did you hear that?” Tamlen asked,

Ciara slowly approached the direction of the noise, peering through some bushes to see a pair of animals she could only describe as hornless halla tied to a tree next to a river. Were these animals the ‘horses’ Maren had described as the humans’ mounts? She noticed the beginnings of a campsite not far from the horses. Humans didn’t camp in this forest normally, at least not ones that hadn’t tried to attack her clan. Should she drive them out? Where in the forest were they, and what were they doing here? What did they want with the Dalish? Why did they trap their mounts like this and abandon them? Even in the most hostile areas, humans hadn’t sought them out before they encountered them. Did the humans see them arrive? Just how far away was this human settlement?

She looked closer at the animals. They were brown and taller than the halla she was used to seeing around camp. She could tell by the size of them they could likely crush someone’s bones if they wanted to. The creatures didn’t seem to be in any sort of distress despite not being free to roam. Did horses not mind their partnership with humans?

Part of her wanted to try to free the horses, but another part of her knew that horses had to mean humans were nearby and she had to avoid them. Though there was the alternative of taking these animals back to camp for their meat. These had been the only animals they had encountered all day. She quietly backed away from her hiding spot, staying out of sight and glancing around to make sure she didn’t accidentally bump into the humans that those creatures might belong to. That would turn into an unpleasant situation quickly enough. The sound of a twig interrupted the silence snapping underneath her feet, which caused her to reflexively turn around, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow on instinct in case. When she looked around the Tamlen to be the only one near her.

She lowered her bow but kept it ready. They still weren’t sure where these humans were and needed to be ready. “We should go back to camp, tell the Keeper what we heard,” Ciara suggested. She knew camping this close to a human settlement was a foolish choice, but hopefully, it wouldn’t cost them.

After the pair of elves quickly made their way back towards the camp, keeping an eye out for any humans that might follow them, they spotted a group of their clanmates gathered around seeming to prepare for another hunt.

“Hey, Theras, Halassan, Melona. Wanna help me with something?” She said approaching the group. The other Elven woman folded her arms as the young elf approached.

“What is it, Mahariel? The keeper almost sent us after the two of you.” She asked in an annoyed tone.

“A human problem.”

“We’re listening.” The other two elves folded their arms.

“Some humans are looking for the Dalish. Why don’t we give them a good welcome?”

“Shouldn’t you be out hunting?”

“For all we know, these humans are the reason there are no animals around.”

“Da’len,” Marethari called towards Ciara in a scolding tone. The other elves in the group quickly dispersed as the elder approached them. “I see you have returned, Was the hunt unsuccessful? Are the animals as scarce as the herbs in this part of the forest?” The keeper asked, her voice softening as she walked attention towards the empty-handed elves.

“Yes, Keeper. But that isn’t the only reason we returned from the hunt so early to tell you.” Ciara began. “Well . . . We may have camped closer to a human settlement than we thought. We might have to move sooner than later.”

“How do you know? Did you encounter any humans in the forests?”

“Not directly . . . but we overheard someone say they were looking for the clan. We think they were humans since the only trace we found of them were two horses.”

“I see, did you get a look at these humans?” Marethari asked. “We do not want to make any enemies, and as you know, our people are not welcome here. But if these humans mean our clan harm, we will have little choice but to leave. But the scarcity of animals and plant life makes me wonder. Did you notice anything notable on their mounts? Anything that showed who they might be?”

“We didn’t Keeper. We heard one of them talking, but they had walked away by the time we had looked to see who they were. All we know is there were at least two of them by the fact there were two horses.” Ciara said. “We considered bringing their horses here for meat. This part of the forest seems empty of all other animal life, but we decided against it. We don’t know what direction the humans went in.”

“You made the right choice by leaving the mounts alone, Da’len. We don’t want to give the humans cause to drive us out.” Marethari assured her, “Normally I would not ask this of you Mahariel, but the two of you know this forest the best and know where these mounts are; I wish for you and Tamlen to contact these humans, find out who they are and what their business is with the clan. I trust that you will make a sound judgment whether or not these humans mean our clan any harm.”

“Of course, keeper.” Ciara nodded, turning to Tamlen. “Let’s just get this over with. I don’t want to spend any more time looking for these people than we have to.”

“Be careful, Da’len.” Marethari cautioned as the pair of elves walked away once more.

After walking for a while in the direction they had come from, Ciara realized that the trees had changed since they were last here. Not only that, but the landscape had changed as well. She approached the familiar set of bushes and opened them once more, peering carefully around.

“Hey, was that slope there the last time we were in the area?” Tamlen asked, looking at the clearing.

“No, it wasn’t.”

“We’re in the right area. Right?”

“The horses are still there where we saw them the last time, so the humans haven’t gotten very far. I doubt they’ve completely abandoned their mounts.”

“What should we do? Wait for them?”

Ciara looked around the clearing. “I’ll climb this tree. You hide in a bush. If they seem aggressive, we ambush them.” She suggested. “Eventually they’re going to have to come back for their mounts.”

Ciara climbed a nearby tree to a low-hanging branch, just high enough that she wouldn’t be spotted by a wandering animal unless it looked up the tree. If anyone wandered from this point towards her clan, she could stop them and see them coming from a suitable distance away. Now all that was left to do, was wait. 

When Ciara heard footsteps running in their direction, she swooped down from the tree she had been hiding in, just as humans entered the clearing. They had been running frantically, but now they had wandered too close to their clan’s camp and she needed to make sure they weren’t there to attack them. “Stop where you are!” She barked at the trio of humans as she knocked an arrow in her bow. She would not allow these humans near her clan. There were no human settlements in this forest. So why would the humans be here? The humans then froze as the elf commanded.

“It’s a Dalish!” The black-haired human shouted to the other two in a warning tone.

“Yes. You’ve found the Dalish. Now I suggest explaining why you were looking for us, to begin with. We don’t take kindly to Shem intruders.” Ciara glared at the group of humans, nocking an arrow and raising her bow at one of them. “Unless you three are Grey Wardens, then I suggest running,” Ciara smirked as the humans’ eyes grew wide and became fixated on the arrow pointed at him. He was right to be fearful of the hunter. Any corpse he left behind would become easy food for the forest animals.

“Step aside and let us pass, knife ear!” Another of the humans demanded as he balled his hands to a fist and puffed out his chest at the female elf. “You have no right to stop us.” He approached the elf when an arrow struck the ground a hairline away from his foot.

“The next one will be in your heart if you come any closer to her, flat-ear.” Tamlen threatened, his eyes narrowing on the brown-haired human as he nocked another arrow.

“I-I swear we weren’t looking for you. You’ve got the wrong guys.” The third human pleaded, shaking like a leaf. “We were trying to run away from a demon. We weren’t looking for trouble, honest.” Ciara and Tamlen looked at one another briefly and rolled their eyes before turning back to the humans. “Please, you have to believe us! There was a ruin, and treasure too. We couldn’t get very far in without encountering the demon though.”

“What did this demon look like? We know this forest, there are caves but no ruins.” Ciara asked. “I don’t suppose you have one of these treasures as proof then,”

The humans looked at one another before

“H-H-Here, we found it just inside the ruins. There’s more in there, but we couldn’t get past the demon. It was huge with black eyes. We thought it was going to kill us.”

“Is that . . . It’s elvish, genuine written elvish!” Ciara recognized it from the scrolls she had learned from the keeper. “Where is this cave?”

“I-its just to the west. Through the rock face. You can’t miss it.”

“Okay then,” Tamlen looked to his clan-mate then. “Should we let them go?”

Ciara glared at the humans. “Run along and don’t come back until our clan has moved on. Consider this your only warning.” She warned. The humans looked to one another before walking away from the elves, careful not to make any movements that were too sudden while they had arrows trained on them.

“Well, should we see about this cave then?” Tamlen asked.

“I’m not sure. I have a bad feeling about this demon … But, at the same time, if we could bring more elven relics back with us, it might be worth it.” Ciara answered.

“Shems call it a demon and you believe them? They think everything is a demon and probably just woke up a bear.”

“Good point.”

“Come on, they said it’s to the west. I’ll race you there.” Tamlen said before holstering his bow and running off to the west along the path.

“Tamlen … Wait. Get back here. It could be a trap!” Ciara holstered her bow and put the artifact in her satchel before running after him.

The pair of elves continued along the winding path, the terrain forming a trench around them. Ciara and Tamlen knew this forest better than anyone, but it was something they hadn’t seen before. Spirits had a habit of changing the forest around unsuspecting travelers, but never had they seen something like this happened. This rock face was not here the last time.

The path was littered with crooked vines and dead animals, some of which bodies still looked warm with no clear cause of death. The trees bent and curved in unnatural patterns, as though they were growing around something that was not visible to them. Ciara had lived in this forest her whole life but had never seen things like these. What kind of magic was at work here?

Ciara stopped running when she saw Tamlen standing at the end of the winding path underneath a group of looming archways that seemed to extend beyond the tree themselves and into the sky. The architecture was like nothing she had ever seen before, even in any of the scrolls they had about Arlathan. Was this what human Architecture looked like?

“Well … Here’s a cave. This wasn’t here before, was it?” Tamlen asked, peering into the cave.

“No, and neither were these archways. That’s why I think this is a terrible idea.” She said.

Tamlen merely smiled softly at her. “Don’t worry, Cia. I’ll protect you if you get too scared. Those Shems probably woke a bear and thought it was a demon” He teased “I love you, always. How dangerous can it be, anyway?” Ciara couldn’t help but smile back at him. Moments like this were the reason she loved him, being able to joke and still be caring.

Ciara carefully descended into the chasm ahead of Tamlen. He was the faster of the two elves and could run back to the camp to get help if something happened. She quickly shook her head at the thought. Nothing was going to happen. It must have been her imagination, but she got the feeling she was being watched, as though something was waiting for them at the end of the ruin.

The air was still but felt wrong. She still wasn’t sure that this was a good idea. Why hadn’t they found this ruin before? There were no animals in here. How old were these ruins?

“So . . . You ready to go back now?” Ciara joked, looking to Tamlen with a smile plastered on her face. Her eyes scanned the walls around them as she paced in place. Her heart began to beat harder as she took in her surroundings. This was wrong. She shouldn’t be here. What if they became trapped in the ruin? What if this was a trap like she feared?

“Want to stay back while I take the lead?” Tamlen asked, looking ahead of them cautiously.

The cold, uneven stone of the cave floor seemed to break off a few yards ahead of them where it was clear that the ruins began with what looked to be tree roots growing on the walls on each side. She saw a cocoon of webbing hanging from the ceiling above where the floor changed.

“No. But it looks like some spiders have made this place their home already. We should be careful.” She gripped her bow and drew an arrow out of the quiver on her hip, nocking it as she slowly stepped forward and descended into the cave. Her eyes occasionally darting over her shoulder as if half-expecting it to close behind them. Andruil guide my arrows, Mythal preserve me. Falon’Din guide my soul. The grip she held on her bow tightened as the floor beneath her feet became smoother, more solid than the natural cave.

“It . . . Appears that the Shem was telling the truth,” Ciara admitted glancing around. She had never been here before. There was an unnatural stillness in the air, as though they had just wandered into a dragon’s lair. She could see some elven artifacts, but the architecture was unlike any she had seen before. Were these human ruins they had stumbled across?

“There are elven artifacts around here. But the ruins look to be of human origin.” Tamlen said, unsheathing the sword and carefully stepping ahead of Ciara. “This place makes me nervous. Do you ever get the feeling of being watched?” The pair of elves glanced around the door and surrounding room as they approached.

“Maybe talking will help distract you. Do you really think that those horses could have belonged to Grey Wardens?”

“I doubt it. Even so, the darkspawn were defeated a long time ago. What business would a Grey Warden have with our clan?”

“Who knows, hopefully they aren’t looking for a recruit.”

“I thought you wanted to get out of the forest for years now?”

“Not if I have to go with a group of shemlen. I’d rather die than that.”

“Careful, Cia. The dread wolf might hear you.” Tamlen smirked, placing a hand on the door in front of them. “Well, let’s see what we can find. Maybe if we uncover some ancient treasure, the Keeper will forgive us for . . . Well, y’know.” Both of the elves chuckled.

“Thanks for covering for me, Tamlen,” Ciara said, lowering her bow and slowly opening the door in front of them that led to the rest of the ruin. A shiver went down her spine as the creak of its hinges echoed throughout the cave. The whole place felt entirely wrong to be in, as though they had intruded. She felt the unnerving need to leave this place but couldn’t explain why. A feeling that grew even stronger as she entered the doorway of the ruin and came to a hallway that went in two directions.

They could split up and cover more of the ruins in less time, but that was also a dangerous idea. Something could happen to one of them, and the other wouldn’t know in time to do anything about it or run for help. “You know I would do anything for you, Ciara. I’m beginning to think this wasn’t the best idea, this place . . . But I think it’s worth the risk. We could discover something of our people’s history!” Tamlen remarked, looking to either side of them. “I don’t think splitting up is a good idea.”

“What gave that away? The partial skeleton on the floor?” Ciara jested, “Look, flames are still burning. Do you think they were lit by those humans? Or do you believe the possibility of this ‘demon’ now?”

“I don’t know. B-but a Dalish hunter fears nothing. Come on, let’s just explore a bit and get out of here.”

As they came to the corner, they heard the skittering of spiders further in the distance. “Wait,” Ciara said, peering around the corner. She could see two giant spiders, each roughly half the size of a halla tending to some human-sized cocoons sat up against the stone coffins in the room. She grabbed her bow and nocked an arrow, aiming it at one of the spiders. “Try to get the other one at the same time. The sooner we get out of here the better.”

Tamlen nodded and readied his bow as well before moving to the corner to get a better shot at the creature. “Ready?” he asked as Ciara quickly and quietly stepped from behind the corner to get a better angle on the spider. “One . . . Two . . . Fire!”

Ciara couldn’t help but notice some statues on the wall that almost looked like spiders. She wondered what the original purpose of these ruins was. Some sort of burial chamber?

The two arrows flew through the air of the cold ruin, the first landing its mark and pinning the spider to the ruin through its midsection. The second spider let out a hiss and turned towards the pair of elves, showing its fangs when the arrow narrowly missed it and hit the stone floor after it moved, the arrow snapping like a twig as the spider skittered towards them.

“Uh oh,” Tamlen said, putting his bow away and unsheathing the sword once more. By the time Ciara had done the same, a stream of flames erupted from the floor where the spider had stepped into the corridor. The spider hissed in pain before curling up on its back, charred and motionless.

“Well . . . Shit,” Ciara commented when the heat and flames subsided. “Spiders and traps. We need to be extremely careful.” She redrew her bow and nocked another arrow, cautiously stepping around the flaming trap and into the larger room. It was filled with ancient coffins, most of which were opened, their lids leaning off exposing nothing. Sunlight showed through the holes in the room's ceiling in its corners and the center. She didn’t trust this place. She didn’t like it either. There was another door on the side of the room and an open pathway, much like the one they had taken to get here in front of them.

They followed the path forward, kicking a rock on the ground in front of them to make sure that they didn’t accidentally step into another trap and become charred like that spider.

As they turned the next corner, they noticed a pile of corpses strewn about the center of the long corridor. They looked like they had had centuries to decay. Were these the inhabitants of the ruin before it was lost to time? If there was a means of burial, then why were these just lying out here? As the pair of elves approached, it was clear that not all of them were ancient. Some of them still had flesh on their bones.

The statue which the corpses laid in front of them caught the elves’ eyes. It was strange yet familiar. A few moments passed before she realized why it seemed so familiar. It was Falon’Din, the friend and Elven god of the dead. “What’s a statue of Falon’Din doing in a human ruin?” Ciara asked absentmindedly. “Back in Arlathan, these statues honored the elven pantheon. Falon’Din is said to guide elves to the beyond when they pass away.” She looked to where the statue faced and saw another door with a strange Dias in front of it. “Okay, last room. If we don’t find anything interesting in here, then we head back and show this carving to the keeper. She may be able to translate it for us.”

“Are you sure you don’t know how to translate it?” Tamlen asked.

“I can understand parts of it but I’m not too sure,”

When Ciara stepped on the dais in front of the door, there was a sharp click beneath her feet. Her eyes shot wide with dread as she realized she had triggered yet another trap. Her hair slapped against her pale face as she twisted her head to both sides, looking for where the trap would spring from.

The corpse shambled towards them as she nocked her arrow and fired it through the corpse’s knee, merely forcing it to drag itself along the stone floor towards the two elves. Tamlen quickly sliced his sword across the stomach of the other corpse, causing it to collapse into a pile of bones on the floor. Ciara quickly sliced the head off of the first corpse with her hunting knife.

“Where those walking corpses? Looks like there are demons or spirits here.” Ciara commented. “Still want to finish exploring?”

“Of course. Last room then we’ll head back to camp and tell the Keeper. We can just say that we never found the Grey Wardens and she won’t know we didn’t look for them.”

Ciara carefully placed her hand on the door, listening for any more dangers that could be laying in wait.

A powerful stench of decay seeped towards the elves from behind the door, forcing the young elf to recoil in disgust, her nose wrinkling up. “Creators, what is that smell?” Ciara asked. “Get your bow ready. I think we’re about to find out what this ‘demon’ is, and what its most recent victim suffered.” She tried to listen more as the door slowly creaked open.

When the door fully opened, it revealed what barely looked anything like an overgrown bear. Blood covered and putrid spikes protruded from its body as blood dripped down from its body. She couldn’t imagine that the animal wasn’t in distress. What had happened to this creature? The creature snored as it lay in the middle of the doorway a few feet away. For right now, at least, it seemed to not notice the elves. “What in Andruil’s mercy is that?” Ciara hushed Tamlen before he could be spooked into screaming. She noticed more artifacts scattered around the bear’s paws; was it guarding them? Ciara carefully nocked an arrow to end the animal’s misery. “Careful.” She whispered to her clanmate. “Let’s try to do this without waking it up. I don’t want to have to fight that thing, we know nothing about it.”

The creature snarled at the elves as it walked at them, leaving a trail of blood behind with every step. Ciara quickly lowered her bow and grabbed Tamlen to push him out of the doorway and into the hallway behind them, dragging him a few feet to the side to get out of the way of the charging monster. It slammed into the side of the wall between the statue and the elves, unable to stop itself quickly enough to turn all the way. It let out a pained roar before charging at the elves again. Ciara fired arrows into its eye, the blood spurting onto the ground in front of the elves.

Bawling in defeat, the creature retreated from the elves and ran down the other end of the hallway, back the way the elves had entered the corridor.

“By the creators! What was that thing?!” Tamlen cried in a hoarse voice. Ciara’s eyes grew wide at the sound of her husband’s voice.

“Tamlen. Are you okay?” She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder briefly as her eyebrows drew together and her voice softened.

“I’m fine . . . Just a cold is all,” Tamlen answered.

“You don’t sound fine.”

“It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Tamlen . . .”

Ciara could feel the sense of dread becoming more noticeable with every moment now. First these ruins, then that creature, and now Tamlen was sick.

“Come on, let’s see what that thing was hiding,” Tamlen said, walking back to the room the bear had come from.

“Tamlen, we need to go back now.”

“Just a moment. . . Hey come check this out, there’s some weird mirror with more elvish on it,” Tamlen called out to her. Ciara reluctantly followed him into the room, careful to keep a sharp eye out for any more monsters like that bear-like creature. “Come on, we’re not getting any younger. If we take too long, the keeper might send someone after us and we’ll be in more trouble.”

“That’s another reason we should leave.” Ciara folded her arms as she approached the steps of the platform. The moment she looked at the mirror, she was mesmerized by how beautiful it was. The two looming statues on each side of it made it appear they were built for it. But what was this mirror doing in the middle of a decrepit ruin of all places, and why did it not reflect the two elves standing in front of it. A dark feeling formed in the pit of Ciara’s stomach. The carvings written along the side were elvish, but not any she had studied with the keeper.

“It’s weird, isn’t it? Everything in this ruin is broken and left to rot, except for . . . Hey did you see that. I think something moved inside the mirror.”

“What? Let me see,” Ciara approached the mirror and peered into it intently, looking for any changes in her reflection. After a few moments, something began to look back at her other than her reflection. It was almost twice as tall as the petite elf, taller than any human she had ever seen, with blackened, decaying, and twisted skin. Ciara gasped as she instinctively drew her hunting knife and slashed it behind her as though expecting to strike something there. When she noticed there was nothing there, however, her skin crawled and her breathing became heavy as she furrowed her brows.

“What’s wrong. What’d you see?” Tamlen asked, his brows furrowing as well as concern filled his voice. 

“I…. I thought I saw,” Ciara gulped breathlessly. What did she see? She looked back in the mirror where she saw the creature clearly standing behind her, only to find nothing, not even her own reflection. “I-I’m not sure. But whatever it was, it isn’t there anymore.” Her heart began beating in her head as she slowly backed away from the mirror and to the side. “I’m done looking at that mirror. You should get away from it too, Tamlen.” She pursed her lips. The image of that creature is one she wanted to forget. Whatever this mirror was, it was bad news.

“Hold on, I’ll only be a moment,” Tamlen said as he more closely inspected the mirror. “I wonder how long this has been down here. We could discover something that will help us learn about the elves of ancient Arlathan.” A few ripples spread throughout the mirror, accompanied by a faint whisper coming from within.

“Did you hear that?”

“No. No one said anything Cia.”

“I heard it. There were whispers coming from the mirror.”

“Hold on, it’s showing me something.”

“What? What’s it showing you?” Ciara’s heart raced with her thoughts. Was it showing Tamlen the same monster it had shown her?

“I see.” Tamlen began, touching the mirror several times, causing ripples to appear just beyond the glass accompanied by the same whispers that grew louder and faster. Ciara was now certain she wasn’t hearing things. “A city . . .underground . . . And there’s a great blackness spreading throughout it.” Tamlen’s eyes grew wide as he stared in the mirror. “I think that thing saw me!”

“Tamlen! Get away from it!”

“Help! I can’t look away from this thing!” Tamlen cried. Ciara hurried to grab him, but the moment that she did there was a bright, blinding light that engulfed them from the mirror. She felt something push her away and onto her back. The cold of the stone floor, the last thing she felt before darkness swallowed her vision.


	2. Chapter 2

Ciara’s senses slowly returned to her, the faded sounds of people talking surrounded her. Her hand reached for the spot next to her, though it found nothing. She pried her eyes open when she found no comforting hand to hold next to her own, the room slowly coming into focus. A low groan escaped her lips as she forced herself to sit up, a dull ache traveling through her body as she did so. Glancing around, she knew this wasn’t the aravel that she normally slept in. The scrolls off to the side had been strewn about as though someone was frantically looking for something in them, but ultimately it could not be found. Among them, she noticed the artifact that the humans had given her. Was this the Keepers aravel? If so, why was she in the Keeper’s aravel? The last images she could recall flashed through her mind. The humans, the artifact, the ruins, and the mirror. Then nothing. As though it had just brought her back to camp. She needed to speak with the Keeper; she needed answers about what had happened. How she had gotten back to camp, and where was Tamlen? She quickly stood up, but as she did so felt unbalanced and needed to sit back down. “What the-”

Stepping out of the aravel, the sunlight blinded her before she shielded her eyes with her hands while they took time to adjust to the light of midday. The hunters that normally gathered around the campfire, joking and telling stories of their hunt while preparing for the next one, were no longer there. It seemed even the apprentices were absent. It appeared the caretakers and children were the only ones still in the camp.

A chill ran up her spine as she stepped down the stairs, the wood creaking beneath her feet.

“Oh. . . Ciara, I was worried sick about you. What happened?” The old elven woman asked. Her silver hair was put up in a bun as she turned to Ciara, her eyebrows furrowing with worry.

“Ashalle, give the girl some space. She’s not a little kid anymore, you don’t need to smother her.” The other woman then turned to Ciara. “ It’s good to see you’ve recovered. We were certain we would lose you to illness last night. The humans that brought you here didn’t seem to think there was much hope of your survival.”

“I don’t care how old she is I’ll always be the one that raised her so I’ll always treat her as my daughter.”

“Don’t worry about me. Where’s Tamlen?” Ciara said quickly, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“It’s okay. All the hunters are out looking for them right now.” Ashalle reassured her, “You should get some rest. Wait here. I’ll go get the keeper, she wanted to see you when you awoke.”

Ciara sat down as she watched Ashalle leave and walk up the makeshift stairs towards the main camp area that she had just come from. She watched the nearby fire while she waited. How long had she been here? “It is good to see you awake, Da’len,” Marethari said, walking down the stairs. “I know not what dark power held you, but it nearly bled the life from you. Even with my magic, it was difficult to keep you alive.”

“I . . . How did I get back here?”

“You were brought back to camp by a pair of Grey Wardens who claimed they found you outside of a cave, unconscious and alone. It would seem that they were not far from the cave when you found it. What can you remember? It is fortunate that Duncan and Rayna found you when they did, without them, you would have likely perished.”

“I remember Tamlen touching a mirror, then nothing. The next thing I remember is waking up back at camp.”

“A mirror? And it caused this mysterious illness? In all of the lore we have collected, I have never heard of anything like this. And Tamlen is still missing. No amount of lore is worth the lives of our clan. Do you feel well enough to show Merrill where this cave is? Without you, we will not find it.”

“I . . I think so. Is my illness gone?” Ciara asked, slightly surprised by Marethari’s concern.

“Your fever broke, and you no longer show any signs of illness, but if what Duncan said was true then we will only know if you are truly cured if we watch your condition. But you must hurry, our clan will be packing to leave soon. It is no longer safe for our clan to stay here, we must move on.”

“The clan is leaving? Why so soon? We just arrived a few days ago.”

“If there is any truth to what the Grey wardens said, then darkspawn will make themselves known in these parts soon. We must outrun that horde. There is . . . also another matter. It seems the group of humans you ran into earlier while searching for the wardens have roused their village against us, while our clan could easily fight them off it would be at the cost of bringing their king down on us. That is an army we stand no chance of fighting.”

“How did you know we ran into a group of humans while looking for the wardens? Why do you want me to take Merrill with me, doesn’t that risk her getting sick as well?”

“Before reaching their Village the humans ran into the Grey Wardens. They pointed the Grey Wardens in the direction of the cave where they found you and brought you back to us. Merrill knows a bit of the magic I used to keep you alive, Tamlen’s chances of surviving the journey back are greater if she goes with you. You recovered fine, and so will Merrill. If you encounter this mirror again, do not touch it, we do not know what else it does.”

“Understood keeper,” Ciara said as she went to go look for Merrill. Along the way, she noticed the troubled faces of her clanmates, some whispering something amongst themselves.

“Thank the Creators you’re awake, Ciara. Not that there’s anything that could keep you down for long.” Merrill said, walking up to her friend. “The keeper told me about the cave and she said she wants me to come and investigate it. I wonder what this mirror is. Do you think the Grey wardens will know more about what happened?”

“It’s great to see you too, Merrill.” Ciara smiled at her childhood friend. “And don’t worry, it takes more than that to kill me. I doubt the shems know anything more than we do about this cave and what happened.”

“Ciara. Human or not, these Grey Wardens saved your life.” Merrill let out an exasperated sigh, “I’m not starting this argument. Let’s hurry while we still have daylight left.”

Ciara led her friend out of the camp and along the path she remembered from the day she set out to find the wardens. Her eyes searching around every tree along the path while calling out for Tamlen, only to be answered by the unnatural silence of the forest air. It seemed even the birds were nowhere to be found.

“Do you hear that?”

“The forest is unnaturally quiet. Tamlen sensed something unnatural in the cave and now whatever he unleashed in that mirror is affecting the forest.”

“We should hurry.”

“The rock face leading to the cave is just up ahead,” Ciara said as she carefully descended the bumpy slope into the clearing only to be welcomed by a gruesome sight. A familiar bear-like monster lay against the wall of the rock face motionless, dead and at least no longer suffering. The deformities and stench were now more pronounced now that further decaying had set in. Its blood still stained the forest floor where it lay and dripped from its eyes still. Upon further inspection of the corpse, she noticed what appeared to be burn marks on its face before the wounds that seemed to be left by a blade.

Ciara noticed strange corpses littered along the path ahead, some killed by a blade and others with magic. They didn’t look like anything she would describe as human. They had a sickly grey tinge to their skin and appeared shorter than elves but bulkier than humans, their faces were gnarly and twisted with the lips decayed away. “It looks like we might not be alone in searching for this cave. This way,” She said, leading her clanmate along the path. The forest seemed too quiet, there were no signs of any forest animals nearby, even the birds. As though whatever dark presence was in the cave was now affecting the entire forest. She wondered if those creatures or that mirror had anything to do with it.

As the elves walked along the path, they heard the faint growl of an animal coming from above the rock face. Ciara glanced around them, looking for the source of the sound, nocking an arrow to prepare for whatever creature was following them. Turning to the sound of paws landing on the grass ahead of them, the elves spotted a trio of wolves baring their teeth at them. Their fur was darker than usual and their fangs twisted, much like the bear that Ciara had encountered before. Ciara knocked an arrow, aiming for the closest of the three wolves, and fired it.

The arrow hit its target in the eye, but it seemed to only make the beast more enraged as it now set its sights on the hunter. The wolf lunged at the hunter and tackled her to the ground before she had the chance to fire another arrow, it then sank its teeth into the elf’s arm through her armor.

“Damn it,” Ciara gritted her teeth as she cursed. Using her free hand, she reached for her hunting knife and stabbed the creature in the back of the neck, having to repeat the action when the beast didn’t die with the first stab to end its life. As the creature went limp, she pried its teeth off of her arm to release its grip on her and cast it aside, ignoring the soreness at the site of the bite marks now as she got back on her feet.

She then looked to see the other two wolves killed by Merrill’s magic.

“Ciara, are you okay?”Merrill asked, worry in her voice.

“I’m fine,” Ciara insisted, readjusting her shoulder piece to cover up where the beasts had broken the skin. “Nothing I cant walk off. Those weren’t normal wolves though.” A normal wolf would have died or run away when hit by an arrow. But that thing persisted as though it was possessed.

“Are you sure? You look a bit pale. Feverish in fact.”

“It’s nothing. I can rest once we’ve found Tamlen.”

Ciara ran ahead of her friend along the path, determined not to lose what little time they had to find Tamlen. She knew she should have dragged him out of there when he got sick. What if what he had is the same illness that had nearly killed her? What if it was too late? Tears came to her eyes at the thought of him wasting away as she had been. It was all her fault if he was hurt. It was her idea to stay back and not actively seek the wardens out. If she had, then at least Tamlen wouldn’t be missing or worse.

She slowed only slightly as she approached the steep slope from last time. Was he there, had he escaped the cave as well and the wardens simply didn’t see him? She knew it was incredibly unlikely given that there was only one path leading there, but she still wanted to cling to what little hope she still had.

As she passed the crooked tree branch, she saw it, a ball of fire flying towards her face from the bottom of the slope. She quickly dived out of the way, climbing onto the surface of the sideways leaning tree just in time to avoid the flame.

She watched as the flame quickly extinguished itself on the patch of grass it had landed in, miraculously not catching the entire forest on fire. When she slowed down to listen for the sound of movement, she realized that her breathing had gotten heavier since she left the camp. She could hear something, something that sent a chill up her spine: Whispers. The same ones she had heard in the cave when Tamlen touched the mirror.

The whispers snaked through her mind, creating a calm melody of sorts. One that chilled her to her core; but, at the same time, brought an inexplicable sense of calm. It even seemed to speak to something within her very blood. She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts by the sensation of heat in the air as another fireball flew through the air, this one coming closer to the elf but still hitting the forest floor before extinguishing itself. Ciara nocked an arrow before trying to aim it in the direction the attacks were coming from, only to realize there was no way for it to reliably hit its target with enough force to cause any actual damage. “Damn it” She muttered as she realized she was going to have to fight up close.

She stepped off of the tree and ran towards the slope. As she reached the incline, she felt an unseen force throw her onto her back before another one threw her further forward, causing her to fall back down the slope.

Ciara winced at the pain of her body suddenly hitting the ground

“What are you doing here?” A woman’s voice asked with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. After a moment Ciara realized that the voice was the same one that she and Tamlen had heard earlier.

Ciara looked up from the ground to find a human extending a worn-looking gloved hand out to her to help her up. She noted the woman’s dusty blue and silver robe, along with worn-looking leather boots. Clearly, the woman had been traveling for quite some time. It didn’t look like any other human clothing she had seen before, though. The human’s red-hair stood out against her pale, freckled face even as most of it was pulled back into a ponytail. “I could ask the same thing,” Ciara said, slowly picking herself up and dust her leather armor off. She let her hair down only to tie it back up in a more secure braid.

The woman pursed her lips at the elf. Clearly she had something she wanted to say.” How about you start by telling me your name? Then I’ll tell you mine and why I’m here.” The human folded her arms. The shining griffon on the woman’s shoulder immediately caught her eye. She vaguely remembered reading about an order that was associated with Griffons but couldn’t recall what it was. “Last time we spoke, you weren’t exactly coherent enough to do much of anything.”

“Ciara. Now mind telling me why you’re still here?”

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” The human asked, lowering her arms and resting one hand on the hilt on her sword that was on her belt as she looked over the elf’s shoulder. Ciara looked back and saw Merrill make her way down the slope. “My name is Rayna Amell, and I’m a Grey warden. Right now we’re investigating the cave you and your clanmate found.”

“It’s good to finally meet you, Rayna, I am Merrill, the Keeper’s apprentice.” Merill introduced herself.

“What do you know about the cave?” Ciara asked, wringing her hands together, hopeful that the warden had some answers.

It looked as though Rayna was about to answer Ciara’s question when the hand on the hilt of her sword tensed. “Get that bow of yours ready. I think I sense darkspawn coming our way.” She said, turning to the path that leads to the cave.

Ciara quickly readied her bow and headed in the path's direction. As she turned the corner she could see them, three more of those creatures.

“Hey! Get back here!” Rayna called after her.

Ciara fired an arrow towards the beasts, watching as it flew through the air towards its target which only deflected it with its sword then looked to the elf with a crooked grin on its face. The hunter tensed at the sight of the creature but nocked another arrow and aimed once more at the creature. She fired but missed her target only to hit one of the beasts that appeared to be dragged along the forest floor.

The sword-bearing monster began to close the gap between itself and the warden. Its running was crooked and unnatural. Before it could get close, however, Ciara shot an arrow through its wrist, detaching the hand that was holding the sword and causing the monster to stumble. It leered at the elf before running at it faster than the elf could nock another arrow.

“You can’t just disarm these things. You have to go straight for the kill.” Rayna said, slicing the creature’s head off and instantly using a fireball to stop the neck from becoming a fountain of poisonous blood.

“Well, excuse me for trying to disarm it while it was running at you,” Ciara remarked as she fired another arrow at the remaining beast, tearing through its eye socket and causing it to fall to the ground dead.

“I’ve killed scores of darkspawn,” Rayna said, sheathing her sword. “Trust me when I say, these three were no threat to me.” She then moved ahead of the elf, turning around and blocking the path forward as she folded her arms.

“Move aside, We’re going to the cave to find Tamlen.”

“Oh no, you’re not. You’re better off cutting your losses and staying put.”

“Have you even searched the cave?”

“We didn’t have the chance to. Duncan was more concerned about bringing you back to your clan than investigating the cave; he’s there now, looking for more answers. The only reason I’m not searching with him right now is that I have to keep people from wandering too close to the cave and becoming corrupted like you did.”

“What do you mean, ‘corrupted’?”

“As in the darkspawn corruption. I’m not sure how, but somehow you managed to get the taint from those foul creatures. Though you didn’t have any injuries, we would expect from someone who fought darkspawn and lost.”

Some of the color left Ciara’s face, she had heard of the darkspawn corruption. Mostly that it was a death sentence with no cure. She shifted uncomfortably and looked down.

“I’m . . . not sure I believe you. I mean the corruption doesn’t just . . . happen, does it? I have fought none of those monsters. . . but the keeper was able to cure me of my illness-”

“Temporarily. Honestly, that you’ve recovered is nothing short of a miracle. But you still have the corruption.” Rayna kept her stance for a moment. “You seemed determined to get in there, so I'll let you pass so you can see for yourself how foolish this is. I have conditions, however. I go with you if only to keep your friend here" She made a small motion towards Merrill with her head. "from suffering the same fate you have, and, if at any point in time, I say we need to leave, _then we leave_. No questions asked. Understood?"

“Understood, all I want is a chance to find him,” Ciara said, moving ahead of the woman to the front of the group. “How do you know I’m corrupted? How can you be so sure?”

“Because I can sense it in you. Just like I can sense it in the darkspawn. Unfortunately, we can’t tell them apart just by sensing, which is why I threw a fireball at you when you ran towards me; sorry about that, by the way, I thought you were a darkspawn.”

“I’m just glad you missed, and that tree was there to hide behind.” Ciara joked slightly nervously, hoping to lighten the mood while looking at the path ahead of them. The familiar looming archways that marked the entrance of the cave, growing closer until she stopped underneath the closest one, looking down into the darkness. “Well, here’s the cave . . . And still no sign of Tamlen.”

Ciara glanced around the entrance of the cave as she led the group down into the chasm. Paying attention to the areas Tamlen might have dragged himself into in order to avoid becoming prey for the spiders. Even some sign of Tamlen would be better than nothing.

“What is this place?” Merrill wondered out loud, glancing around. “It feels as though it's been tainted by something.”

“This place is crawling with the darkspawn taint and I can sense a few of them up ahead so stay close,” Rayna warned, moving towards the front of the group. “We shouldn’t spend long here.”

“If you’re that worried, you can stay outside. It won’t take long to search this place.” Ciara said, looking around the room.

“Hey dumb ass, out of all of us, you’re the one that has the most to worry about by being here too long. The longer we’re here, the worse your corruption gets, the less chance you’ll survive.”

“I told you already, I feel fine. The keeper healed me.”

“Again. It’s temporary. Sure, you might feel fine now, but eventually, it will catch up with you. You’ll need a more permanent cure before that happens to you.”

“What do you mean, a more permanent cure? If you know about it, then why not give it to me right away?”

“It’s not that simple. And honestly, not my choice to make. You’ll have to talk to Duncan about that.”

“Surely wardens don’t just randomly go looking for caves in the forest. Why are you guys here to begin with?”

"A Blight is coming, and we need Wardens to fight it. Duncan thought we might find a few promising Recruits among the Dalish. Lucky for you, we got here when we did."

“Well . . . Good luck in finding someone to join, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but our clan has to leave in the morning. I need a cure and I certainly have no interest in fighting alongside a human.”

Rayna gave Ciara a raised eyebrow glance, a fire seeming to build behind her crystal blue eyes as she opened her mouth to speak before pursing her lips together and taking a deep breath. “You might find that life can be full of disappointments” She mused, a plastered smile on her face as they walked through the door and entered the hallway. “Alright, when you came here last time, which direction did you go in? If we retrace your steps, then we might find your friend.”

Ciara glanced in both directions of the room and noticed a figure lying on the floor down the hallway, in the opposite direction from the one they had taken the previous trip to the ruins. Could it have been Tamlen? “No.” Her voice cracked with a whisper as she ran over to the body. As she approaching it, she realized it wasn’t Tamlen, but one of those creatures that were in the forest.

“I said to stay close,” Rayna said, as she caught up with the elf. “You don’t listen very well, do you?”

Ciara ignored the human, turning to the door. With any luck, this leads to the same room with the mirror. It was worth a try. “Be careful. Tamlen and I encountered some traps the last time we were here.” Ciara warned the group. “We traveled the other direction, but I think both ways lead to the mirror. If they do, then we can check the other direction on the way back.”

“Hold on,” Merrill said before frost grew on the ground around them and beyond the door. Ciara heard the snapping of metal beneath the ground behind the door. “That should take care of the traps until the ice thaws, just be careful not to slip.”

“I can sense two creatures in the next room. You might want to get ready for a fight.” Rayna said, unsheathing the sword on her hip and getting it ready.

“Is there any chance-”

“No.” Rayna interrupted. “Even if there was, it would be too late to help him. Trust me.”

Ciara rolled her eyes and allowed Rayna to open the door as she nocked another arrow and pointed it at the door. She didn’t know what to expect in the next room, but with any luck, they would be able to find some trace of Tamlen.

As Rayna took the lead, Ciara could see three of the monstrous creatures further within, careful to not slip on the frozen floor. Ciara attempted to carefully line up her shot with one of the creatures before it could notice the group, but they suddenly turned to face the group, two of them readying a bow as well. Ciara fired an arrow at one of the beasts’ legs, causing it to collapse to the ground in imbalance. The arrow still sticking out of its knee as it picked itself up and growled at the elf before finding itself encased in ice.

Ciara then turned her attention to the remaining creature, this one was noticeably taller than the other ones they had faced. It narrowed its eyes at the elf as it began to be dragged along the floor across the room. Ciara returned her attention to the frozen darkspawn, firing an arrow at it and shattering the creature. After returning her attention to the other darkspawn just in time to see Rayna stab it in the back as it tried to drag itself away against whatever force was dragging it. Ciara looked to the final darkspawn to see it already dead, almost burned completely.

Ciara peered down into the floor below them. The gaps in the floor just small enough to prevent someone from falling down them. But it made her wonder if there was another way down there. If there was a way, then there wasn’t a doubt in her mind Tamlen would have searched for it.

“We need to keep moving.” Rayna hurried the elf along, moving towards the next corridor.

“Give me a moment,” Ciara said, putting her bow down as she lifted the lid off of the ancient rusted coffin and looked inside to find nothing but cobwebs. “I’m not leaving any stone unturned.” She ran over to the cocoon laying on the ground. It was fresh. Could it be possible? The webbing tore like cotton as she carefully cut into the structure with her hunting knife, unsure. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to find a familiar face staring back at her. She closed her eyes tightly and looked away as she tore away all of the webbings.

Opening her eyes slowly as she turned her face back to the cocoon, she saw it was empty. A wave of both relief and disappointment flashed through her. She re-sheathed her knife and picked up her bow once more.

“Don’t worry, Ciara. We’ll find him.” Merrill said, trying to comfort her friend. Would they, though? It seemed more and more unlikely with each second. But she couldn’t see giving up without finding at least some trace of him. People do not just disappear, Tamlen would never do that to her.

The two elves then followed the human through the last corridor. When they turned the corner, a familiar set of statues greeted them with more corpses of those creatures scattered around the area. As the group approached, the statue of Falon’Din appeared much more ominous this time, still facing towards the same dais and door.

“Here we are, this is the room where we found the mirror and that bear-like monster,” Ciara said, staring at the door in front of the statue. “Can you sense anything nearby? Any of those tainted creatures?”

“No, I can’t. You’re the only tainted being I can sense here.”

Ciara wasn’t sure what to expect on the other side. What horrible state she would find Tamlen in? If she even found him. She didn’t want to think about the possibilities right now. She took a deep breath before slowly opened the door in front of them, the slight creak of the hinges echoing through her ears.

As they entered the room, her attention instantly shifted to the mirror in the center of the room, ignoring the figure of the human standing in front of it. The dark energy she felt before still emanated from it as it glowed a sickly purple as lighting seemed to arch around it briefly. She could feel the evil coming from it, the same as from those creatures.

She then looked at the corpses littered around on the floor. A mix of relief and disappointment as she realized they were those same creatures the group had fought on the way here. Tamlen could still be out there somewhere. She could still save him.

“I thought I sensed someone nearby,” The human said walking towards the group, the sound of his voice snapping Ciara out of her thoughts when she heard him speak. She looked up to see a taller human with darker skin standing in front of him. He had a short black beard with his hair in a ponytail. His silver chest-plate had a similar griffon on the center of it to Rayna’s. It was much fancier than what she had normally seen on the human guards that would try to drive out her clan from time to time.

“The elf insisted she come in here, though I tried to persuade her not to,” Rayna explained.

“I see.“The bearded man said, looking to Ciara. “You’re the elf we found wandering the forest out a few days ago, aren’t you? It is a surprise to see that you recovered.”

“Please don’t act like I owe you anything,” Ciara said pained. The whispers in her head seemed to grow more restless, though she tried to ignore them. She would have been lying if she said they weren’t concerning her.

“On the contrary, it was my duty to return an injured Dalish to their clan. Your people have always been allies with the Grey Wardens. I am Duncan, leader of the Grey Wardens here in Ferelden. The last time we spoke you were barely conscious. I see you’ve met Rayna.”

“Yes, I have. Though I’m sure she’d rather I met a fireball to the face instead.” Ciara answered.

“Rayna, is this true?” Duncan asked in a scolding tone, looking to the mage. “You need to be more careful.”

“I . . .Wha . . .” Rayna scoffed. “It’s not my fault! She was running towards me, she could have been a darkspawn for all I knew.”

“How did you mistake me for a darkspawn?” Ciara asked.

“I already told you, I can sense the taint in you, just like I can sense it in the darkspawn. Since we honestly didn’t expect you to recover and we couldn’t find your clan mate, I assumed you were a darkspawn.” Rayna deadpanned, folding her arms.

“Rayna. Be nice. There’s no need to make these elves our enemies.” Duncan said to the mage before turning to Ciara. “Your keeper did not send you after us, did she? I told her we were in no danger.”

“No. She didn’t.” Ciara folded her arms. “We’re looking for my husband, Tamlen.”

“I . . .I see . . .” Duncan said, looking away from her., “So you and Tamlen found this mirror while exploring these ruins.”

“You found some sign of him?” Ciara asked, her eyes lighting up with hope.

“Sadly, no. I have found nothing of him. Nor do I think we will.”

“Why not?”

“Because he has been without aid for too long, even if you found him, there is nothing you can do for him. What else can you tell me that you remember?”

“There was something in the mirror, some kind of creature. Tamlen said he thought it saw us. And then after that, he couldn’t seem to look away and I couldn’t move. When he touched the mirror, there was a blinding light, then I blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up back at camp.”

“I’m not giving up on finding him alive! Wouldn’t there at least be a body?”

“The darkspawn would have taken the body.”

“What would they-?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know what they would do with it.” Rayna interrupted.

Duncan turned to the mirror and destroyed it with his sword. As the blade crashed into the mirror, there was another blinding light, and the same foul whispers from before echoed through Ciara’s ears, causing her to shudder slightly. “We need to leave. Now.” Duncan said,

“I’m not leaving without Tamlen.” Ciara protested.

“There. Is. Nothing. You can do for him.” Duncan insisted, “You have survived thanks to your own willpower and your keeper’s healing magic, but tamlen has no chance. He has been tainted without aid, for three days now. Regardless of whether you feel it or not. You still have the darkspawn corruption. And it is killing you.”

“Ciara . . .” Merrill placed her hand on Ciara’s shoulder.

“I need to speak with your Keeper regarding your cure. Neither of you can afford to spend any more time here than you absolutely have to,” Duncan advised, “Let’s leave.”

Ciara stared at the shattered pieces of the mirror on the ground, her heart feeling as though it was shrinking in her chest as her ribs tightened. She attempted to straighten up her shoulders but they immediately dropped again. Why did this have to happen? “Come on, let’s go back to the clan,” Merrill guided her away from the shattered mirror, leading ahead of the group as they left.

Ciara’s legs felt heavy as they walked through the rest of the cave silently. What was she going to tell the Keeper? What was she going to tell the clan? That Tamlen was gone and it was her fault? With the exception of a few corpses of those monsters, the path back seemed unchanged from when she and Tamlen first explored it. Was he truly gone? Or was he out there somewhere looking for her.


End file.
